CityUHK to begin independent admissions for Chinese Mainland Gaokao candidates from the 2026/27 Academic Year
Beginning today (25 September), City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is accepting undergraduate applications for various programmes. The University has also announced that it will independently admit Chinese Mainland graduates through the National College Entrance Exam (Gaokao) and withdraw from the “National General Higher Education Admission Scheme” (全國普通高等學校統一招生計劃), effective from the 2026/27 academic year, as approved by relevant Chinese Mainland authorities.
Gaokao candidates who are interested in applying to CityUHK must submit their application directly through the CityUHK official website before the application deadline. Applications will tentatively start in mid-November.
The new policy will further enhance CityUHK’s flexibility in recruiting outstanding students from Chinese Mainland students by adopting a merit-based, quota-free admissions approach for each province or city. The goal is to attract more high-potential students to pursue further studies in Hong Kong.
In the 2025/26 academic year, CityUHK admitted approximately 300 Chinese Mainland students through the “National General Higher Education Admission Scheme”. This new admissions arrangement will support the University's continued promotion of the “Study in Hong Kong” brand, further expand its international and diverse student portfolio, and consolidate its leading position in regional higher education.
As the Most International University in the World, CityUHK actively strives to attract outstanding global talent to ‘Study in Hong Kong’, aligning with the policy of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Currently, CityUHK’s non-local students come from nearly 100 different nationalities. Ranked as the Most International University in the World by Times Higher Education (THE) in 2024 and 2025, CityUHK is committed to providing outstanding students with opportunities to study at diverse and world-class institutions and connecting them with the world's top academic resources to cultivate talent with an international perspective.
Starting in the next academic year, the University will expand its flagship programmes to a total of ten. CityUHK offers generous scholarships to support outstanding local students admitted to its flagship programmes. These include full or half coverage of tuition and accommodation fees, as well as a one-off overseas exchange grant of up to HK$500,000. Students may have the opportunity to visit top global institutions, such as MIT, Imperial College London, Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge and Cornell, for international exchange programmes.
In addition, the University has been actively expanding its global collaboration with top universities around the world. The first cohort of 12 master’s students from CityUHK to receive scholarships through its collaboration with Lucy Cavendish College and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge embarked on a unique academic experience at Cambridge at the start of the 2025/26 academic year.
Media enquiries:
Venus Doon, Communications and Institutional Research Office, CityUHK (Tel: 3442 6377)
Gaokao candidates who are interested in applying to CityUHK must submit their application directly through the CityUHK official website before the application deadline. Applications will tentatively start in mid-November.
The new policy will further enhance CityUHK’s flexibility in recruiting outstanding students from Chinese Mainland students by adopting a merit-based, quota-free admissions approach for each province or city. The goal is to attract more high-potential students to pursue further studies in Hong Kong.
In the 2025/26 academic year, CityUHK admitted approximately 300 Chinese Mainland students through the “National General Higher Education Admission Scheme”. This new admissions arrangement will support the University's continued promotion of the “Study in Hong Kong” brand, further expand its international and diverse student portfolio, and consolidate its leading position in regional higher education.
As the Most International University in the World, CityUHK actively strives to attract outstanding global talent to ‘Study in Hong Kong’, aligning with the policy of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Currently, CityUHK’s non-local students come from nearly 100 different nationalities. Ranked as the Most International University in the World by Times Higher Education (THE) in 2024 and 2025, CityUHK is committed to providing outstanding students with opportunities to study at diverse and world-class institutions and connecting them with the world's top academic resources to cultivate talent with an international perspective.
Starting in the next academic year, the University will expand its flagship programmes to a total of ten. CityUHK offers generous scholarships to support outstanding local students admitted to its flagship programmes. These include full or half coverage of tuition and accommodation fees, as well as a one-off overseas exchange grant of up to HK$500,000. Students may have the opportunity to visit top global institutions, such as MIT, Imperial College London, Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge and Cornell, for international exchange programmes.
In addition, the University has been actively expanding its global collaboration with top universities around the world. The first cohort of 12 master’s students from CityUHK to receive scholarships through its collaboration with Lucy Cavendish College and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge embarked on a unique academic experience at Cambridge at the start of the 2025/26 academic year.
Media enquiries:
Venus Doon, Communications and Institutional Research Office, CityUHK (Tel: 3442 6377)